Alright in short I need to start making money at some point and my first goal is to make a small game first being only one person with still a limited amount of knowledge of programming. I'll probably do a re-imagining of classic arcade games or applications of convenience and sell them digitally for something like $0.99 or a bit more for each copy. I'm not looking to make a lot of money right away, I know that's very unrealistic, but I'm looking to get a little over $100 within a span of a few months and learn more as I go along.

I'm working towards opening a bank account and really getting started out there in the world and getting on it early as I've got a limited time being 16 and still in school. I've thought of the idea of opening a PayPal account if that's possible and selling things digitally through eBay and use the money I make to fund for more things like a website domain and expand from there to also help my personal life. Although I'm not exactly sure what the best route to go actually is.

I know digital distribution is my best option to start with because I've no funds to really start with and the Internet makes that easy, well easier. As I said I've been thinking about eBay, but I honestly don't know what I can and can't do being 16 years old and less about the legalities of digital distribution of games\software on eBay. Perhaps there's a better place to start that's more specific to a situation like mine. My two main platforms of distribution are going to be Windows and Linux (more specifically Ubuntu), but I'm staying away from OS X for now until I could afford a license for that and iOS devices for distribution VIA the app store.

I'm even more interested in Ubuntu because of its software center although I'm not sure exactly how it works, but I also realize that the Ubuntu phone is also coming up next year which could be a major opportunity for me with simple games and applications.

I've also looked into the possibility of using sites such as kickstarter or indiegogo, but I wouldn't want to take that big of a risk until I'm sure that I can do what I need to do to move forward and get things done. I don't know yet what my limitations and strengths are and that's why I'm asking about the different possibilities.

I'm curious to know what other people think and where they started when working from the bottom up. There's not a lot of useful information for people in my situation and my age group which is discouraging, but I'm determined to start somewhere and make something and I'm sure that once I get going, things will pick up. So if anybody has any experience with where to start specifically for somebody my age it would be very much appreciated and help me gain a grasp of the real world. Thank you very much!

Uh, if I start talking about digital distribution, creating a website, and whatnot to my parents I'm afraid I might lose them somewhere. Also if I had to go through a parent like using my dad's PayPal->eBay account, I'd lose autonomy.

Can you explain a bit better? I wouldn't mind the cooperation such as co-signing or whatever I need to do to move forward, but I don't know exactly where to start. I've read more about PayPal and it appears I may be able to have my dad setup an account for me so long as it's linked to his, but I'm still looking into it. Let's say I have a bank account linked to a PayPal account, what would be the best place for me to go to in order to actually digitally distribute and sell my applications\games? What kind of control would I actually have once all of the legal stuff has been handled with co-signing and whatnot?

As a minor -- that is, a person under the age of 18 -- you are unable to sign a contract or most other legal agreements. Because of this you will very likely need the help of an adult to at least some extent. Tom isn't being mean or lazy by refusing to provide a more detailed answer above; laws vary -- sometimes greatly -- from place to place, and you really need to get advice from someone who knows the specific regulations in your local area. The SBA can very likely help you out with this.